Mirage Rock [Deluxe Edition] (CD)

Band of Horses

Amoeba Review

“Better things come to those who wait,” Ben Bridwell sings with particular snarl on “Knock Knock,” the opening track of Mirage Rock. Fans have been waiting a few years for an album as strong as the band’s first two, and they’ve gotten it with Mirage Rock. Rock ‘n’ roll producer Glyn Johns brings out some welcome rawness from the band, going full Allmans/Skynard style on “How to Live.” The detailed, dynamic and beautiful “Slow Cruel Hands of Time” shows greater patience in the band’s songwriting, offering rewards within its sweet harmonies and subtle shifts. “A Little Biblical” is a welcome new entry to the band’s canon of anthemic arena-rockers, but perhaps the most striking is a song called “Dumpster World,” which moves from an America-style forlorn ballad to a big rocker with sarcastic, anarchistic lyrics — “Don’t pick up that trash/Put more of it on the ground.” That loose, scrappy energy helps pick up some of the album’s less memorable tracks, while their willingness to take a few chances helps keep things lively — following a jangly but low-key ballad like “Everything’s Gonna Be Undone” with the Sonic Youth-inspired “Feud” and then a beautiful country ballad like “Long Vowels” is a masterstroke of gutsy pacing. Mirage Rock finds Band of Horses sounding hungry again.